Hat-fastener.



PATENTED DEC. 27, 1904.

H. W. G. VON GASTENS.

HAT FASTENER.

APPLIOATIOII FILED MAR. 5, 1904.

BY 96 M411,

INVENTQR wna lfi/ ATTORNEY UNITED STATES Patented December 27, 1904.

HENRY N. C. VON CASTENS, OF NET/V YORK, N. Y.

HAT-FASTE NER- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,474,dated December 27, 1904.

Application filed March 5, 1904- fierial No. 196,754.

To [bZZ- whmn, it may concern:

Be it known that l. HENRY WV. 0. VON CAs- TENs, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city of NewYork, State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Hat- Fasteners, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a pin or comb device for attachment moreparticularly to ladies hats and adapted to automatically lock itselfinto and with the top hair for holding a hat or other head-d resssecurely upon the head and permitting the hat or head-dress to be put onor taken off without disheveling the hair.

It is the main object of this invention to provide a simple,easily-operated, durable, efficient, and inexpensive fastening device ofthis character which may be applied at any time to and within any hatand will effectively hold the hat upon the head without requiringfrequent puncturing of the hat, as occurs when hats are fastened byordinary hat-pins.

The invention will first be described and then will be particularlydefined in claims hereinafter set forth.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which Figure 1 is an under side rear perspective Viewof an ordinary flat-brimmed hat having a preferred form of my improvedfastener applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional side View ofcrown portions of the hat with the fastener and indicates by dottedlines how the pivoted pin or comb may be operated by the finger-tip tolower the pin-points to permit the pin to be entered into and withdrawnfrom the hair as the hat is put on or removed. Fig. 3 is a detailsectional plan view of the pin or comb and its attachments to thehat-crown; and Figs. 4 and 5 show by sectional side and plan views,respectively, how the hat pin or comb and its preferred supporting-platemay be provided with fingerpieces, allowing the pin to be operatedconveniently from outside the hat.

First referring more particularly to Figs. 1,

2, and 3 of the drawings, it will appear that the hat pin or comb 1 ispivoted at its head portion 2 to the hat-crown 3. This pivoting of thepin or comb to the hat is best effected by using a metal attaching-plate4, to which the pin or comb head 2 is held by wire staples 5 5, clenchedat the outer face of the plate. Said plate may be attached to the hatcrown or body 3 by sewing, riveting, or otherwise. On the pin or combhead 2, between the two hinging-wires 5 5, is loosely placed a spiralspring 6, one end of which is fixed to the pin or comb head, while itsother end is fastened to the attaching-plate. This spring acts normallyand quite strongly to swing the points of the pivoted pin or combautomatically upward or outward to or toward the top of the' hat-crown3, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings. One edge of theattachingplate 4:, preferably its lower edge, is extended and curvedinward at 7 to form a shield or guard, preventing catching of the hairin or by the pin-actuating spring 6. The guard 7 is specially extendedbetween the two opposite prongs or teeth of the pin or comb, and therebyprevents excessive lateral play of the pin or comb and relieves itshinges 5 5 of excessive lateral strains, while having the furtheradvantage of concealing the pin or comb hinges and spring to give a morepleasing finish to'the entire fastener device.

The chief features of my invention comprise a pin or comb pivoted to ahat and having an approximately horizontal normal adjustment within orunder the hat-crown, said pin or comb being adapted when its points areswung inward to pass into the top hair or coiffure about horizontallywhile the hat is being adjusted to the head combined with means,preferably a spring, which automatically swings outward the points ofthe pin or comb to cause it to clamp the top hair, and thereby securethe hat upon the head. The guard preventing entanglement of the hairwith the pin or comb actuating spring or device also is a desirablefeature, and especially when said guard laterally braces the pin or combto prevent overstrain of its pivot-joint with the hat. Special mentionalso is made of the two opposing l finger-piece 13, and the two opposedlingerfinger-pieces one on the hat and the other on the pin or comb andpermitting inward swinging of the pin or comb from outside the hat andwithout handling the hat-body itself.

To operate this fastener, the finger-tip will be inserted within thehat-crown and will press the hinged pin 1 downward at its points, asindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings. This allows thelowered pin to easily pass end wise into the hair as the hat is slippedupon the head, and when the pin is released and about the time the hatis properly adjusted the pin or comb points will be swung upward by thespring 6 to cause the pin or comb to automatically clamp the top hair,which is indicated by the dotted line 9, between itself and the top ofthe hat-crown, and thereby also draw the hat downward to securely holdit to the head. To remove the hat, it only is necessary to raise itsfront portion and then slip the hat rearward while the hair slips fromthe pin or comb. This may be done either with or without lowering thepin by the finger-tip, and the hat may be put on and taken off withoutdisheveling the hair.

In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings the hingedpin or comb has a stud l0 projecting outward through a slot in thehat-crown, and to this stud is preferably fixed any suitable ornamentalfingerpiece 11. The attaching-plate t also preferably has a fixed stud12 projecting outward through the hat crown and provided with anornamental finger-piece 13, which thus forms a fixed opposingresistance, allowing it and the pin finger-piece 11 to be pressedbetween two fingers or the finger and thumb for positively swinging thepin or comb points down ward to the full-line position of Fig. 4 of thedrawings to allow the pin or comb to enter the hair endwise whileputting on the hat or to easily leave the hair as the hat is removed.These two finger-pieces allow the entire hat to beheld and handled bythem while putting it on or taking it off, and for this reason the two[inger-pieces may be preferred by some persons;

but as the use of said finger-pieces requires the cutting of small holesor slots in the material of the hat for their studs to pass through thefirst-described construction of Figs. 1, 2, 3 of the drawings may bepreferred by many, as the hat-body is not cut in any way while applyingthe fastener to the hat. The fingerpiece 13 may be dispensed with andthe finger-piece 11 alone be used to swing the hinged pin or comb fromoutside the hat; but in this case the fingers should be applied to thehatcrown to offer necessary resistance for conveniently operating thepin or comb. The use of both finger-pieces 11 13, offering resistance toeach other, obviates the necessity of touching the hat when operatingthe pin or comb from outside the hat-crown by the pieces are preferablewhen the pin or comb thus is to be manipulated.

Any suitable lining may be applied to and within the hat-crown and overthe attachingplate 4: and the hinged head. portion of the fastening pinor comb, or the whole fastening device may be applied directly to andwithin the lining, as will readily be understood.

It is obvious that any other form of spring or other device may be usedto swing the pin or comb points normally to or toward the top of thehat-crown for automatically and securely clamping the hair and holdingdown the hat, as above described; but the spiral spring shown is adurable and eflicient device for this purpose, and it also permits easyshielding-or guarding of the hair by a turnedover portion of theattaching-plate 4: or by a separate piece or plate applied over the headof the pin or comb and the spring and held to the plate. Various othermodifications may be made in this simple and effective hat-fasteningdevice without departing from the scope and spirit of the appendedclaims.

1 claim as my invention 1. A hat-fastener comprising a pin or combpivoted to the hat and having an approximately horizontal normaladjustment within or under the hat-crown, said pin or comb being adaptedwhen its points are swung inward to pass into the top hair abouthorizontally while the hat is being adjusted to the head, and meansautomatically swinging outward the points of the pin or comb andadapting it to clamp the hair and secure thehat upon the head.

2. A hat-fastener comprising a pin or comb pivoted to the hat and havingan approximately horizontal normal adjustment within or under thehat-crown, said pin or comb being adapted when its points are swunginward to pass into the top hair about horizontally while the hat isbeing adjusted to the head, and a spring automatically swinging outwardthe points of the pin or comb and adapting it to clamp the hair andsecure the hat upon the head.

3. A hat-fastener comprising a pin or comb pivoted to the hat and havingan approximately horizontal normal adjustment within or under thehat-crown, said pin or comb being adapted when its points are swunginward to pass into the top hair about horizontally while the hat isbeing adjusted to the head, a spring automatically swinging outward thepoints of the pin or comb and adapting it to clamp the hair and securethe hat upon the head, and a guard covering the spring and preventingentanglement of the hair therewith.

4. A hat-fastener comprising a pin or comb pivoted at its head portionto the hat and having an approximately horizontal normal adjustmentwithin or under the hat-crown, said pin or comb being adapted when itspoints are swung inward to pass into the top hair about horizontallywhile the hat is being adjusted to the head, a spring on the pin orcombhead automatically swinging outward the points of the pin or comb, and aguard covering the spring and preventing entanglement of the hairtherewith; said guard also extending at side portions of the pin or comband relieving its hinges of excessive lateral strains.

5. A hat-fastener comprising a plate adapted for attachment to andwithin a hat and having an approximately horizontal normal adjustmentwithin or under the hat-crown, said pin or comb being adapted when itspoints are swung inward to pass into the top hair about horizontallywhile the hat is being adjusted to the head, a pin or comb pivoted atits head portion to said plate, and a spring attached at opposite endsto the pin and plate and automatically swinging the points of the pin orcomb outward and adapting it to normally clamp the hair and secure thehat upon the head.

6. A hat-fastener comprising a plate adapted for attachment to andwithin a hat and having an approximately horizontal normal adjustmentwithin or under the hat-crown, said pin or comb being adapted when itspoints are swung inward to pass into the top hair about horizontallywhile the hat is being adjusted to the head, apin or comb pivoted at itshead portion to said plate, and a spring attached at opposite ends tothe pin and plate and automatically swinging the points of the pin orcomb outward and adapting it to normally clamp the hair and secure thehat upon the head; said attaching-plate carrying a portion extendingbetween the pin or comb teeth and covering the spring to guard the hairtherefrom and also obviating excessive lateral strains on the pin orcomb hinges.

7. A hat-fastenercomprisingapin or comb pivoted to the hat and having anapproximately horizontal normal adjustment within or under thehat-crown, said pin or comb being adapted when its points are swunginward to pass into the top hair about horizontally while the hat isbeing adjusted to the head, and means such as a spring automaticallyswinging outward the points of the pin or comb and adapting it tonormally clamp the hair and secure the hat upon the head; said pin orcomb having a finger-piece extended to permit its operation from outsidethe hat.

8. A hat-fastener comprisinga pin or comb pivoted to the hat and havingan approximatel y horizontal normal adjustment within or under thehat-crown, said pin or comb being adapted when its points are swunginward to pass into the top hair abouthorizontally while the hat isbeing adjusted to the head, means such as a spring automaticallyswinging outward the points of the pin or comb and adapt- 6 5 ing it tonormally clamp the hair and secure the hat upon the head, and opposingfingerpieces, one being fixed to the hat and the other to the pin orcomb and both extended to permit swinging of the pin or comb fromoutside the hat.

9. A hat-fastener comprising a pin or comb pivoted to the hat andadapted to engage the hair, a spring normally swinging outward thepoints of the pin or comb, and a guard covering the spring andpreventing entanglement of the hair therewith.

10. A hat-fastener comprising a pin or comb pivoted to the hat andadapted to engage the hair, a springnormally swinging outward the pointsof the pin or comb, and a guard covering the spring and preventingentanglement of the hair therewith; said guard also extending at sideportions of the pin or comb and relieving its pivot-joint of excessivelateral strains.

11. A hat-fastener comprising a pin or comb pivoted to the hat andadapted to engage the hair, and opposing finger-pieces one being fixedto the hat and the other to the pin or comb and both extended to permitinward swinging of the pin or comb by them from outside the hat andwithout handling the hat body.

12. Ahat-i'astener comprising an attachingplate 4, a pin or comb 1 2pivoted to said plate and having an approximatelyhorizontal normaladjustment within or under the hat-crown, said pin or comb being adaptedwhen its points are swung inward to pass into the top hair abouthorizontally while the hat is being adjusted to the head, and a spring 6on the pin or comb head automatically swinging the pin or comb pointsoutward, said plate carrying a portion 7 covering the spring andpreventing excessive lateral strains on the pin or comb hinges.

13. A hat-fastener comprising an attachingplate 4:, a pin or comb l 2pivoted to said plate and having an approximately horizontalnormaladjustment within or under the hat-crown, said pin or comb beingadapted when its points are swung inward to pass into the top hair abouthorizontally while the hat is being adjusted to the head, and a'spring 6on the pin or comb head automatically swinging the pin or comb pointsoutward, said plate carrying a portion 7 covering the spring andpreventing excessive lateral strains on the pin or comb hingesysaid pinor comb also having an extended finger-piece l1 permitting swinging ofthe pin or comb from outside the hat.

14. A hat-fastener comprising an attachingplate 4, a pin or comb 1 2pivoted to said plate and having an approximately horizontal normaladjustment within or under the hat-crown, said pin or comb being adaptedwhen its points are swung inward to pass into the top hair of the pin orcomb from outside the hat by I the opposed finger-pieces.

Signed at the city of New York aforesaid this 4th day of March, 1904.

HENRY W'. O. VON OASTENS.

\Vitnesses:

E. J. GROKER, KATE A. VON GASTENS.

